Cagbon element azto method of making- the same



T. w. -B. Y R NE.. CARBON ELEMENT AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2

Patented mm, 23, 1919.

battery only justv service. It has beenj found, howeventhat the handlingand shipment of the unassemmay very substantially shorten theirlife in aTHOMA$ w. Leanne, or nos'ron, messacnnsnr'rs.

, cannon nnniunnrnnn mnrnonor meme THE Specification ofLettersla'ten'tri Pten'tgd Se t, 23 1919 Application November 2, 19 18."Serial No." 26,30.

ToclLwhom'it mag concern? j p rBeit lniown' that I, TnoMAs W. Brennacitizen of the United States, residlng at Boston, in the county ofSuffolk and State of Massachusetts, h'aVQ invented certain new anduseful Improvements .in Carbon Elements and 'Methods'of Making the Same;

andI' do hereby: declare the following to be a zfull, clear, and exact"description of the invention such as will enable others skilled intheart to which it appertams to make .and use the same.

The present invention relates to dry bat- .teries and more particularlyto the carbon element for such batteries and to the method of makingsuch element and the battery embodying the same. p

Where dry batteries are completely as-. semrbled and then stand foranyconsiderable period of time before a; deterioration occurs due to localinternal"act1onwh1ch I l service or even render. them unfit for usealtogether. In order to avoid this deterioration it has been v f ore'itwas to be put "into bled elements is. liable to result injury to thecarbon: element when itconsists, for example, offa stick or: blockofcanbon su rroundedby clepolarizing materi-al held in place in somesuitable manner, as by a tentile bag or pther container." W1th such acarbon element'the shockgandjarsincident to handling and ijshipment' areliable to loosen the. depolarizing material, however tightly it mayhaveorlginally been packed around the carbon block, thusimpairmg theelectrical contact of the particles of -depolarizing material with oneanother and with the carbon block. As a result'the internal resistanceof the battery when assembled is increased and its usefulness impairedand possibly destroyed altogether.

It is the object of the present invention to provide a carbon elementfor dry batteries which shall comprise a stick or 'block offlcarbonsurrounded by depolarizing material all united together in a hard, solidmass which is capable of withstanding heavy shocks and jars withoutdanger of being broken or loosened.

pioposed to assemble adry -A-further object of the present inventionistoprovide a method orprocess for producing the above described elementand battery embodying the same,

With these ob'ects in view the present inventlon consists in thecarbonelement and methods of makinithe same and embodying such elementin aattery as hereinafter descr bed and more particularly defined in theclaims. a y 1 In the accompanying drawing isshown a carbon elementconstructed in' accordance with the present invention. This carbonelethe ment comprises the usual carbon rod or block l 'provided at itsupper end with a binding post or connector 2. The carbon block, exceptat its upper end, is surrounded by the depolarizing material 3 or mix asit is commonly termed. This may be of any desired composition, a commonmixconsisting of granular or powdered carbonaceous anddepolarizingmaterial. A bag 4 of tentile material surround the depolarizing materialand carbon, and is held in place by means of a cord 5.

a In order that the depolarizing material and carbon block may form asolid, unitary structure, the depolarizing material is moistened with asolution of crystalline electrolyt1c salt., Thismay beapplied eitherbefore the depolarizing material is placed around the carbon orafterward or partly at 1 both times. The solvent is then removed in anysuitable manner, as by natural evaporatlon, heating, etc. As the solventis with-. drawn,'the electrolytic salt crystallizes upon the caibonaceous and depolarizing material,

securely binding the particles of the latter together and to the carbonto form a strong, umtary structure which ma be handled and shippedwithout being bro en orv loosened.

The preferred way of 'assemblin the carbon element is by placing thetexti e bag inside of a splitmold of, the desired contour. A smallquantity of depolarizing material slightly moistened with an aqueoussolution of zinc and ammonia chlorids or other suitable electrolyticsalts is then placed in the bottom of the bag and tamped 'or rammed. Thecarbon stick or block is then positioned within the mold and bag and thedepolarizing material slightly molstened, as above described, isgradually added, being continually tamped around the carbon. After thedesired amount of depolarizing material has been placed in the mold, thetop of the bag is closed and bound tightly around the carbon stick. Theelement is then removed from the mold and a cord wound tightly aroundthe outside of the bag. The element is next placed in a solution of theelectrolytic material, the bag and depolarizing material being swbmergedand left there until its interior has been sufiiciently moistened withthe solution. The element is then removed, allowed to drain and dry inthe air for several hours, after which it is subjected to heat-un til itbecomes dry and hard.

A carbon element constructed as above is adapted for use in the ordinarytype of dry battery merely by being placed in the zinc container with alining of blotting paper or other bibulous material. The space betweenthe carbon element and the lining is then filled with a paste orsolution of electrolytic material, the top of the container sealed withwax or pitch, and the cell is ready for use. In use the moisture fromthe paste or solution will penetrate the depolarizing mass and,dissolving the crystals of electrolytic salt, will furnish an additionalsupply of the electrolytic material. I

The bag, in which the depolarizing material is packed and which afl'ordsprotection to the element in handling and transportation, serves to holdthe particles of depolarizing material in close contact with one anotherand with the carbon element after the battery has been assembled and thebinding crystals of electrolytic material have become dissolved.

While in what is now considered the preferred embodiment of thepresentinvention an aqueous solution of the electrolytic material is employed,the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, as in itsbroader aspects it contemplates the use of electrolytic material in anysuitable form which shall serve to bind together the particles of thedepolarizing material or shall connect the depolarizing material and thecarbon electrode into a solid, dry, unitary mass.

Having thus described the present invention, what is claimed is: v

1. A carbon element for batteries comprising a block of carbonsurrounded by dry depolarizing material united to the carbon by dryelectrolytic material.

2. A carbon element for batteries comprising a block of carbonsurrounded by dry pulverized material united together and to the carbonby a crystallized electrolytic salt.

3. The method of making carbon elements for batteries which consists insurrounding a block of carbon with pulverized depolarizing'materialmoistened with a solution of electrolytic salt, and removing the solventto cause the salt to crystallize and bind the depolarizing material andcarbon into a unitary mass.

4. The method of making carbon elements for batteries which consists insurrounding the carbon block with ununited particles of depolarizingmaterial and thereafter uniting the depolarizing material into a solid,unitary mass with dry electrolytic material.

The method of making carbon elements for batteries which consists insurrounding the carbon block with pulverized depolarizing material,inclosing the carbon block and depolarizing material in a tightlyfitting pervious insulating container, and uniting the depolarizingmaterial and carbon block into a unitary mass with soluble material.

6. The method of making carbon elements for batteries which consists insurrounding the carbon block with pulverized depolarizing material mixedwith electrolytic material, and heating the carbon and depolarizingmaterial to cause the electrolytic material to bind the depolarizingmaterial and carbon into a solid, unitary mass.

7. The method of making batteries which consists in placing Within azinc container a carbon element comprising a block of carbon anddepolarizing material united to form a solid mass by means of solubleelectrolytic material and contained within a pervious insulatingcovering, and supplying moisture to the container to dissolve theuniting electrolytic material.

. THOS. W. BYRNE.

